STOCK Act

#1
VOLatile

VOLatile

BRB Pooping
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#1
Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act

On January 26, 2009, Congresswoman Slaughter and Congressman Baird introduced HR 1148, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. The STOCK Act prohibits, by SEC rule, any members of Congress, Congressional staff, or Executive Agency employee from buying or selling stocks, bonds, or commodities based on nonpublic information they obtain because of their status.

The STOCK Act also prohibits anyone outside of Congress or the Executive Branch from making investment decisions on nonpublic information received from a Member of Congress, Congressional staff, or Executive Branch employee.

The legislation prohibits, by House Rule, Members or staff from disclosing material nonpublic information to individuals or firms if they believe that information will be used to inform stock trading decisions.

The STOCK Act requires Members of Congress and staff (those subject to financial disclosure requirements) to report the purchase, sale, or exchange of any stock, bond, or commodity transaction exceeding $1,000 within 90 days. Stocks in blind trust or mutual funds would be exempt from reporting.

Finally, the legislation requires firms that specialize in "political intelligence" to register with the House and Senate, as lobbying firms are required to do.
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The bill has 235 co-sponsors and only needs 218 total votes to pass. On Dec. Eric Cantor indefinitely postponed the bill, effectively preventing any voting on it.

Cantor's 2010 Tax Form can be found here, all 21 pages of his stock dividend and gains listings.

153 Democratic co-sponsors and 82 Republican co-sponsors.

TL;DR - Eric Cantor indefinitely postponed a bill that would stop insider trading within Congress.
 
#4
#4
seems like a reasonable piece of legislation, I'd be interested to know what Cantor's objections to it stem from (other than the intimation that he benefits personally from insider trading)
 
#5
#5
Cantors tax form is neat. Couple of things that make you go hmmm.... Wife works at Alt Invst Mgmt Llc (what kind of deals are going down there) Biggest bank accounts of over $250k are at BoA and Goldman and a credit union. $50k whole life policy. He owns TBT, lol. Bunch of real estate deals. The old GM stock (MTLQQ) he hasn't written off yet.

And it's crazy how they were and are able to get away with this (if people were trading on legit inside info)
 
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#6
#6
Though its not currently illegal, it is practiced by members of congress. I'm sure they are adept at hiding any ROI from "insider trading."
 
#7
#7
An update on some more of Cantor's shenanigans...

In the senate version of the STOCK act that was passed 96-3, Republican senator from Iowa Chuck Grassley added on an addendum requiring politicians who sell political intel to any private firm register their activity so it becomes public knowledge. There were actually threats to pension benefits of politicians who broke this rule.

The Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington had this to say:

CREW strongly supported the Senate approved version of the STOCK Act (S. 2038) passed by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 96 to 3. S. 2038 goes well beyond merely prohibiting insider trading by, among other things, requiring registration by political intelligence consultants, stripping pension benefits from corrupt members of Congress and closing serious loopholes in the nation’s anti-corruption laws.

The bill Rep. Cantor is bringing to the floor removes several of these provisions. Although the House Judiciary Committee passed nearly identical legislation late last year, the new bill drops the Leahy-Cornyn amendment, which responds to court decisions that have undermined prosecutors’ efforts to target public corruption. It also excludes the Grassley Amendment, which would require political intelligence consultants to register with Congress.
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This in addition to him just a week ago trying to make the bill cover such a broad swath that it would not pass the house. Now his changes to the bill are essentially defanging it.

His taxes might look clean, but what the hell is he up to?
 
#8
#8
Grassley had to say this about the house GOP's changes:

It’s astonishing and extremely disappointing that the House would fulfill Wall Street’s wishes by killing this provision. The Senate clearly voted to try to shed light on an industry that’s behind the scenes. If the Senate language is too broad, as opponents say, why not propose a solution instead of scrapping the provision altogether? I hope to see a vehicle for meaningful transparency through a House-Senate conference or other means. If Congress delays action, the political intelligence industry will stay in the shadows, just the way Wall Street likes it.
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#11
#11
It's cheating, straight up. The victims are those that get screwed over because they don't have the privileged information and play the game the way it was meant to be played.
 
#12
#12
We disagree.

The game is thus: make as much money by spending as little money as possible.

I think your point of view stems from an idea that the stock market is a zero sum game and it is not. The investors are not competing with one another. It is possible for everyone to be a net winner. (highly unlikely, but possible). Just because someone else buys a stock at a low price that will explode tomorrow, doesn't cost me anything since I had no reason to buy that stock either way. Their information helped them, but it did not hurt me.
 
#13
#13
It will when they all sell off and you are stuck holding the scraps because you weren't privy with their info (or worse actions).
 
#15
#15
And those with insider info wont spread false rumors to bash a stock so they can buy more at a cheaper price. Yea that wont happen

/sarcasm
 
#16
#16
Weezy said:
It will when they all sell off and you are stuck holding the scraps because you weren't privy with their info (or worse actions).
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If they don't sell off and the stock tanks because it comes out that their widget kills people, am I better off because those in the know didn't sell? Hardly. They just lost money with me.
 
#17
#17
VOLatile said:
Sometimes I really like Grassley, other times not-so-much.
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When do you not like him?

This is not the ban on insider trading that you were looking for [Reader Post] | Flopping Aces

Congress has a penchant for passing toothless legislation, especially as it affects them. The STOCK Act is no exception. STOCK stands for Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge.
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Republicans in the House do not approve of the bill as it was passed in the Senate. They feel it is weak.
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John Freaking Kerry has benefited probably more than any two other members of congress from insider trading.

As the law now stands I don't understand why he, and others, can do that but they put Martha Stewart in the slammer.

What loophole is it that congressmen use?

Where's dropski when you really need him, I'm sure he could explain.

Can anyone else explain why senators and congressmen get a free pass for something anyone else would be prosecuted for and the house and senate don't even bring them before the ethics committee.

Has the legislative branch of our federal government become this corrupt?

(Of course we already know the present regime in the executive branch is even more corrupt.)

I suppose asking these questions would cause Napolitano (big sis) to think I'm a terrorist.
 
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